These 'lost Canadians' are hoping to get dual citizenship by descent

Changes to Canadian citizenship rules have led to thousands of new applications - many coming from the US.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceIntelligence RevolutionAI v the MindTech NowHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveThousands of 'lost Canadians' have applied for dual citizenship - is Canada ready?2 days agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRobin Levinson-KingToronto, CanadaSubmitted photoJoe Boucher (far right) says he and his siblings (back row) learned to be proud of their French-Canadian heritage from their parents (front)As the youngest of five children, Joe Boucher learned a lot from his older brothers and sister - how to ride a bike, how to navigate the miles of forest behind their house and how to skate and play hockey. But one thing he didn't really pick up from them is how to speak French.

Although both of Boucher's parents were of French-Canadian descent and spoke French with each other, it was once illegal to teach French in school in the US state of Maine, where the Bouchers lived. And so his siblings, amongst themselves, defaulted to English.

"Shame was heaped upon French speakers as being second-class citizens," he recalls.

More than a million French-Canadians moved from Canada to the New England region of the US in the 19th and 20th Century, mostly to seek jobs in mills or on farms. At the time, the law made it difficult for Canadians to pass on citizenship to their children born in the US. And so, generations of so-called "lost Canadians" were born.

A new law, which came into force in December, aims to correct that historical inequity, by allowing not just the children of Canadians to claim citizenship, but anyone who can prove an ancestral tie.